Railway car hand brake



May 23, 1933. R. w. BURNETT' RAILWAY CAR HAND BRAKE Filed March 25, 1929 3 Sheets- Sheet 1 Mao/M ifmg May 23, 1933; R w BURNETT 1,911,056

RAILWAY CAR HAND BRAKE Filed March 25, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 23, 1933. R w BURNETI" 1,911,056

RAILWAY CAR HAND BRAKE Filed March :25; i929 s Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 23,193?

UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE RICHARD W. BURNETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS RAILWAY can HAND BRAKE Application filed March 2 5, 1929. Serial No. 349,817.

This invention relates to manually operthe relative positions of the bellcrank and ated brake mechanisms for railway cars. drum for different piston travels. Fig. 4

One of the objects of the invention-is to represents the parts in their initial position, provide a railway car hand brake in the op- Fig. 5 intheir brake setting position, for

5 eration of which the slack in the brake rigcars having normal slack and Fig. 6 the posi- 55 ging and brake setting apparatus is quickly tions assumed by the parts with the extreme taken up, the brake shoes brought into conpistontravel. tacts with the car wheels, with the parts of Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a the brake setting apparatus in positions to modified apparatus in which a sheave is sub- 19 give substantially maximum leverage, for stituted for a rocking member. so

. all normal amounts of slack (piston travel) Fig. 8' is a sectional plan on line 88 of while provision is made for setting the Fig. 7. brakes, though less effectively, even where, as Referring first to Figs..1, 2 and 3, desigmay happen in a few isolated cases, there is nates the body of a railway box car, 26 a chain .an excessive amount of slack up to, for exwhich forms part of the brake rigging of the 65 ample, the full piston travel of the air brake car, 27 a rocking member or bellcrank pivoted cylinder piston plus the slack in the brake at 28 to the bottom of the car and provided, setting apparatus itself. preferably with an arcuate Windingsurface Another object of the invention is to pro- 29 for the chain 26. 30 is a rod pivoted at 31 20 vide, in a hand operated brake apparatus in to'bellcrank 27 and 32 a chain which is adapt- 7 which the chain of the brake rigging extends ed to be wound upon a drum 33 for setting around a sheave, novel means for providing the brakes throughrocking movement of bellconnectionsbetween the brake rigging and crank 27. the operating mechanism on the end wall, for The drum 33 is fixed to a shaft 34 pivoted example, of the car. in the back wall 35 and front wall 36 of a .75

By brake rigging I mean the apparatus housing 37 which is closed at the top and under the car body including brake shoes, open at the bottom and secured to the end wall beams, equalizing and pulling rods, etc., of the car. Drum 33 has an arm 38 to which which apparatus is ordinarily operated by the chain 32 is attached in any'suitable man- 3 compressed air but under certain conditions nor, the drum being preferably formed with so may require to be operated manually. By a groove 39 for the chain. Fixed to shaft 34 chain I intend to include any flexible conis a large gear 40 W ich meshes With a Smaller necting element, and by the term bellcrank gear 41 on a shaft 42 pivoted in the housing a pivoted or rocking element to which the 37 and projecting through the front wall brake rigging is attached and which is oscilthereof. Secured to the" forwardly projecting s5 lated by the handbrake apparatus to set or end'of shaft 42 is a holding ratchet 43 and a; release the brakes. hand wheel 44. A holding dog 45 is pivoted The invention is illustrated in certain pres at 46 to an upstanding flange 47 on housing ferred embodiments in the accompanying 37 and is formed with a tooth 48 to engage drawings wherein: the teeth of the ratchet 43. The forward end Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a of dog 45, designated 49, is engaged by a railway box car showing the brake of my tripping member 50 pivoted to flange 47 at invention applied thereto. 51. The tripping member has a weighted Fig. 2 is afragmentary front elevation of end 52 for holding the dog in engagement 45 the manually operated brake setting and rewith ratchet 43. The trip 50 is provided with leasing mechanism,the scale being larger than a lug 53 adapted to bear'on the under side of that of Fig. 1. the projection 49 of arm 45 to disengage the Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line dog from the ratchet. 54 is a stop pin-on a 33 of Fig. 2. bracket 54a, forming part of flange 47, against.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating which stop pin the weighted end 52 hears me when the trip is turned to its tripping position.

'For instantaneous release of the brakes a rod 55 is provided which is pivoted at 56 to the flange 47 of housing 37 and is formed with tripping lugs 57 adapted to bear against a tail-piece 58 on the dog.

No claim is made to the holding and releasing mechanism just described, or to the combination of the same with the vertical hand wheel, as these devices and combinations are claimed in my co-pending application filed October 31. 1927 as Serial No. 229,967 (patented as Patent No. 187997 3, dated September 22, 1932) and in my co-pending application Serial No. 281,088 filed May 28, 1928. This application is a continuation in part of application Serial No. 10,248 filed February 19, 1925 and since abandoned.

It will be observed that the winding chain 32 is attached to the drum at its longest radius. The drum is formed with a section of minimum and equal radius, designated 7), a designating the long radius portion of the drum towhich the chain is attached. 0 designates a section of gradually increasing radius and d, a section of decreasing radius.

By reference to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, it will be seen that provision is made for quick takeup of the slack after which the parts of the brake setting mechanism are in such position as to give maximum leverage in setting the brakes, where the piston travel is not excessive, while with extreme piston travel the brakes can still be set but with less favorable leverage conditions. 4

In a very great proportion of railway cars the brake shoes will be brought into contact with the wheels at somewhere between four and eight inches of piston travel. The winding drum 33 is designed to give the highest efliciency under these conditions. with any usual amount of slack (piston travel) the chain 32 will come into contact with the drum somewhere along section b of the drum, as shown in Fig. 5, Fig. 4 representing the initial position of the parts. At this time the bellcrank 27 will be in position to give maximum leverage, so that considering both the position of the drum and the position of the bellcrank, the apparatus is in condition to give the maximum, or very nearly the maximum power in applying the brakes with comparatively little variation for all points of contact along section b of the drum.

However, theremay occasionally be a car which through wear of the parts or maladjustment will have enough slack in the brake connections to allow piston travel in excess of eight inches. Under these conditions the brake must be capable of operation, and, as it is more essential that the brakes should be capable of being set even with sixteen inches of slack, for example, so as to take care of a few emergency casesthan that the brake That isshould be so designed as to have maximum efliciency for the relatively few instances of piston travel over eight inches and less than sixteen inches, the sections 0 and d of the drum are given increasing and decreasing radii, to make the brake operative for the very extreme amount of slack at the expense of diminished efliciency in the cases of abnormal piston travel, which will be few. Fig. 6 shows the parts in the relative positions which they will assume where the slack is excessive.

A modification is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The chain 61 of the brake rigging in this case extends around a sheave 62 pivoted in a guide housing 63 at the bottom of the car. In order to prevent the inconveniences of a long chain which is likely to get out of alignment with its sheave and to be knocked against the car wall with the stopping and starting movements of the car, a rod 64 is interposed between the end of chain 61 and the chain 65 which is wound on the winding drum in the manner described in connection with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Rod 64 extends through guides 66, 67 which are preferably slotted as indicated at 68, Fig. 8. The connecting device 69 between chain 65 and rod 64 provides a stop coacting with the upper guide 66. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 stops 70, 71 are provided on gear 40 and the back plate of the housing respectively. Both limiting means need not be provided.

A winding drum formed with its winding surface of the contour herein shown and described, that is with the chain attached to the drum at the point of longest radius, and in contact with the drum at the minimum radius section for braking operation in cars of normal piston travel is particularly suitable in the case of a brake apparatus, such as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 employing a sheave in place of the rocking member or bellcrank. The attachment of the chain to the drum at a point of long radius, viz. at the end of arm 38, gives quick take-up, requiring little power, while for braking operations on all normal cars the power which can be developed due to the short radius of section b of the drum is considerable.

. The principal use of hand brakes on railway freight cars is in switching the cars in railroad yards although hand brakes are-also shoes against the wheels and that when the slack has been so taken up the brakeshoes should be capable of being applied to the wheels with great force. Accidents to brakeman and damage to cars and their cargoes are very largely, due to deficiencies in hand brakes in one or more of the respects noted. The standard type of freight car brake involving a brake-mast on which the chain of the brake rigging winds, provided with a horizontal hand wheel, has been the cause of many accidents due to the slipping of the chain on itself as it winds on the brake mast and also to the fact that the brake hand wheel being horizontally placed is limited in diameter by end clearance requirements necessitating the use of a club in order to get adequate leverage, both in the setting and release of the brakes. Also the take-up of the brake rigging chain is necessarily slow,

The present invention, in each embodiment obviates these difficulties and thereby provides a hand brake which reduces accidents to a minimum. The chain winds on a drum of sufiicient circumference so that there is no overlapping of the chain on itself, the winding surface of the drum being in the same plane with the length of chain extending therefrom toward the bottom of the car; that is the center line of the winding surface is in a single plane parallel to the end of the car". This arrangement makes the apparatus positive in its operation and reduces friction.

The hand wheel is arranged vertically, mak-' ing it possible for the brakeman to operate the brakes from a platform on the end of the car, or by standing on the end ladder, thatis in a position much more secure than the top of the car where a brakeman must stand in operating the old type of brake referred to. Moreover by having the wheel arranged vertically it may be made of any reasonable diameter necessary to give adequate leverage. The slack in the brake rigging is quickly taken up, due to the opefation of the bell crank, in one type of the invention and to the configuration of the winding drum in the other. At the same time when the drum reaches the brake setting position (for average equipment) the power is multiplied so that with a fairly large hand wheel, possible because ofthe vertical position of the wheel, a brakeman can hold onto the car with one hand and easily set the brakes with his other hand to give a braking pressure in excess of that required by railroad regulations in air brake operation.

The arrangement and construction herein described whereby the brakeman may maintain secure footing on the car and operate the brake without the use of the weight of his body in the brake operation are important contributions not only in the efficiency of the brake operation but also in the provision of greater safety to the brakeman.

I claim: 1. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, manually operated mechanism for setting the brakes comprising a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car and power increasing and transmitting mechanism between the brake rigging and the hand wheel comprising a chain and a drum having an eccentric winding surface the center line of which is in a single plane, the drum being formed with a section of relatively long radius to which the chain is attached, a section of short, substantially uniform, radius on which the chain first winds in setting the brakes and a section of increasing radius, over which the chain next winds if excessive slack permits, and an anti-friction element for transmitting movement from the chain to the brake rigging.

2. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, manually operated mechanism for setting the brakes'comprising a ver-v tically arranged hand wheel and power increasing and transmitting means between the brake rigging and hand wheel comprising a chain and a drum having an eccentric winding surface the center line of which is in a single plane, the drum being formed with a section of relatively long radius to which the chain is attached, a section of short, substantially uniform, radius on which the chain first winds in setting the brakes and a section of increasing radius over which the chain next winds if excessive slack permits, a rod attached to said chain, a chain attached to the other end of the rod and a sheave around which said last named chain extends.

3. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, manually operated mechanism for setting the brakes comprising a vertically arranged hand wheel and power increasing and transmitting means between the brake rigging and hand wheel comprising a chain and a drum having an eccentric winding surface the center line of which is in a single plane, the drum being formed with a section of relatively long radius to which the chain is attached, a section of short, substantially uniform, radius on which the chain first winds in setting the brakes and a section of increasing radius over which the chainnext winds if excessive slack permits, a rod attached to said chain, a chain attached to the other end of the rod, a sheave around atta'ched to the winding drum at a wide part thereof and a flexible portion extending around the anti-friction member, said eccentric drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging.

5. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car, a revoluble anti-friction member near the bottom of the car, and power increasing and transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging comprising an eccentric winding drum, a connecting element having a flexible portion attached to the winding drum at a wide part thereof and a flexible portion extending around the anti-friction member, said drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slackin the brake rigging and being operatively connected with the hand wheel so as to rotate in both directions with said wheel.

6. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car, a revoluble anti-friction member near the bottom of the car, and power transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging for effecting a quick take-up in slack and for increasing the power comprising an eccentric winding drum, a connecting element having a flexible portion attached to the winding drum at a wide part thereof and a flexible portion extending around the anti-friction member, said drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging and gearing for operatively connecting the drum with the.

hand wheel whereby the drum rotates in both directions with the hand wheel.

7. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car, a revoluble anti-friction member near the bottom of the car, and power increasing and transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging comprising an eccentric winding drum and a connecting element having a flexible portion attached to the winding drum at a wide part thereof and a flexible portion extending around the anti-friction member, said drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging, a small gear rigidly connected with the hand wheel and a large gear meshed therewith and rigidly connected with the drum.

8. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car, an'anti-friction member near the bottom of the car, and power increasing and transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging comprising an eccentric winding drum, a connecting element having a flexib e portion attached to the winding drum at a wide part thereof and a flexible portion extending around the antifriction member, said drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging, said connection comprising a vertically arranged rod and two sections of chains.

9. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car, a revoluble anti-friction member near the bottom of the car, and power increasing and transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging comprising an eccentric winding drum and a connecting element having a flexible portion attached to the winding drum at a wide part thereof and a flexible portion extending around the anti-friction member, said drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging, said connection comprising a vertically arranged rod and two sechour; of chains, and guiding means on the car for the rod.

10. In combination with the brake riggin of a railway car, a vertically arranged han wheel on the car-and power transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging, the powerratio of which is increased as the hand wheel is rotated in the direction to set the brakes comprising a windmg drum having acircumferential winding surface with itscenter line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging, a chain to wind on said drum and means for changing the vertical pull on said chain to a horizontal pull on the brake rigging.

11. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel on the car and power transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and brake rigging, the power ratio of which is increased as the hand wheel is rotated in the direction to set the brakes comprising an eccentric winding drum having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a plane and longer than the maximum take-up of the slack in the brake rigging, a chain to wind on said drum and means for changing the verti cal'pull on said chain to a horizontal pull on thebrake rigging.

12. In combination with the brake riggin of a railway car, a vertically arranged han wheel, and power transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and the brake rigging, the power ratio of which increases as the hand wheel is rotated in the direction to set the brakes, comprising a chain, a vertically arranged winding drum for said chain,

having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a vertical plane, a gear wheel on the same axis and connected with the winding drum, a shaft with which the hand wheel is connected, a gear on saidshaft engaged with the other gear and means for converting the vertical pull on said chain to a horizontal pull on the brake rigging.

13. In combination with the brake rigging of a railway car, a vertically arranged hand wheel, and power transmitting mechanism between the hand wheel and the brake rigging, the power ratio of which increases as the hand wheel is rotated in the direction to set the brakes, comprising a chain, an eccem tric vertically arranged winding drum for said chain having a circumferential winding surface with its center line in a vertical plane to which the chain is attached, agear wheel on the same axis and connected with the winding drum, a shaft with which the hand wheel is connected, a gear on said shaft engaged with the other gear, and means for converting the vertical pull on said chain toa horizontal pull on the brake rigging. I

RICHARD W. BURNETT. 

